How to Make Your Favorite Coffee Shop Drinks at Home

No matter how long the coffee shop queue is, for many java lovers, nothing can replace the pleasure of that first cappuccino, latte, or pour-over made by a favorite barista. It's a morning routine—OK, ritual—that never gets old. But sometimes, home needs to stand in for your local café. Sure, you can pop in a pod and call it a day, but if you have coffee-making equipment and good coffee at your fingertips, plus a few extra minutes, you can conjure up coffee drinks that may even rival the morning joe made by the pros. We spoke to a coffee expert to learn more about brewing, frothing, and enjoying barista-style drinks in the comfort of your kitchen.

Use Good Coffee

Leveling up your at-home experience starts with brewing delicious coffee. Whether you have a fancy espresso machine, a sturdy French press, or a tried-and-true drip coffee apparatus, it's essential to use fresh, quality coffee beans and follow the ratio of coffee to water as directed in the recipe. "Paying more for coffee usually correlates to quality, as lower quality coffees aren't sorted for ripeness or milled with much care,” says Matt Falber, the founder of City Boy Coffee, a Long Island City, N.Y.-based roaster offering ethically sourced specialty coffees from over 50 countries. “The difference in quality will be huge, and our money typically does a lot to help small businesses, farmers, and communities around the world.”

Roasting and Grinding

Look for coffee that has been freshly roasted, that means in the past few weeks, says Falber. "Grinding freshly makes a huge difference too, but only if you're going to buy a burr grinder," he says. If you opt out of purchasing a good grinder, ask your roaster to grind it for you. "The consistency in the grind is more important than the freshness, in my opinion,” says Falber.

Espresso-Based Drinks

The common denominator for drinks like macchiatos and lattes is that they use espresso. Espresso is coffee that's made by using the pressure from steam to force water through the grounds, resulting in a rich, oily, and intense coffee that a regular brew just can't match.

Dark roast beans are no longer de rigueur for barista-style espresso drinks, Falber says, noting that some stellar coffee shops even serve light roasts. "If you're new to espresso, you can't go wrong with a medium roast. It will likely be smooth, bright enough to cut through the milk, but also provide the good kind of bitterness we associate with chocolate," he says.

A pinch of salt added to the coffee grounds before brewing can help mask the bad kind of bitterness. "It should be a last resort rather than your go-to," says Falber. "If your coffee is too bitter, try something better."

Espresso Substitutes

If you lack espresso or an espresso maker, there are some workarounds:

For regular coffee makers: Make your brew on the stronger side to mimic the same characteristics of espresso, or even add a pinch of instant espresso powder to your brew before creating your preferred drink.

Old-school solution: Falber prefers another method entirely. "Though some coffees make better espresso, espresso is more about the brew method than the actual coffee used," he says. Enter the moka pot, a stovetop coffee maker that uses pressurized extraction. "It will turn any coffee into something very close in strength and consistency to espresso, and will save you tons of time and money over an at-home espresso machine," he says.

Steamed Milk and Foam

No frother? No problem. Frothy foams play an essential part in several barista drinks. While a milk steamer or frother is a gadget you'll use on repeat for lattes and the like, you can get similar results with the flick of your wrist and skim or 2 percent milk.

Froth magic: "This is one of my favorite tricks," says Falber. "Just put the milk in a water bottle or a jar, secure the lid, and shake." Thirty seconds of vigorous shaking—and ta-da!—behold the foam.

For more volume: Add a few pinches of sugar, and to keep it from collapsing back into the liquid, remove the lid and zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds (the heat acts as a stabilizer for the foam).

Flavored Coffee

At your corner café, baristas can instantly turn your drink into a taste sensation with a pump or two of thick syrup, stowed in bottles next to big espresso machines. Options also abound at home:

Homemade syrups: You can recreate those heavenly flavors with your own hazelnut, vanilla, caramel, and chocolate syrups.

Baking staples: For a flavor boost, minus the sugar, raid your spice cabinet and stir in a teaspoon of vanilla, hazelnut, or almond extract, or go wild adding peppermint or coconut extract to the grounds before brewing.

Spice it: If you're moving full steam ahead on the flavored coffee train, try this Arabic coffee, a Turkish-style coffee that boils ground dark-roast coffee with sugar and cardamom pods.

Latte Art

Once you've mastered the fundamentals of a strong cup of coffee and foamy milk, you can build on your new skill set, and try your hand at latte art. A great starter recipe for the novice barista: cappuccino foam hearts.

Cold Brew

No coffee shop menu is complete without a cold brew option. And yes, it's as easy as pie to make at home. "The hardest thing about cold brew is waiting to enjoy it," says Falber. "A scale is so helpful in getting the proportions right, though." He makes his batch by combining 120 grams of coarsely ground coffee and 600 milliliters of water, then storing it in the fridge for 16 to 18 hours. "After that, strain it and add 360 milliliters of water. Voila! It's delicious and good for up to a week."